One Big Sweet Mistake

Chapter 15

“If I am a bi, so what?” I blurted out, giving him a challenging look. Alex shrugged like he did not care and shoved a big piece of fried chicken into his mouth. I looked around and exhaled when I realized that Gregory was not there anymore. Great, now I could eat in peace. I was drinking my soda and choked because Alex suddenly said,

“I was a gay too.”

“What?” I shrieked, blinking my eyes in doubt.

“Hey, I said ‘was’ not ‘am’ so you don’t have to be shocked like that,” he chuckled. I wiped my mouth which was smeared with greasy oil and asked,

“How come? Did you ever date a boy then?” I asked curiously, glancing at Lola who was sitting on my lap, thinking whether it was okay to talk about this subject when there was a toddler between us.

“No. It’s just that I didn’t have interest on girl until last year, so I thought I was a gay.”

“Ah, let me guess. The girl who changed your mind must be Madison Weatherby,” I said, grinning. Alex raised his eyebrows when I mentioned the name.

“How do you know about her?” he asked suspiciously.

“It turns out that your crush is my friend’s little sister, Nicholas. I met her this afternoon. She seems nice. Is she your classmate or something? Anyway, if you like her why don’t you ask her out? You looked like a coward at the baseball field the other day. I think...” I stopped talking abruptly because I felt that I was too talkative. Alex frowned and stared at me with a mind-your-own-business look, so I shut my mouth and stuffed a handful of french fries into it. To my surprise, he did not yell at me and spoke,

“Actually, she was my girlfriend. We just broke up a week ago,” Alex said in a low voice.

“What? You had a girlfriend? But you’re only fourteen!” I shrieked and felt like an idiot because a minute ago I just suggested him to ask her out. I just thought he was too young. Even I, who just celebrated my eighteenth birthday a month ago, never had a boyfriend.

“Kelsey, the way you talk just reminds me to my grandma,” Alex said, frowning.

“Sorry about that,” I quickly apologized.

“You should stop seeing me as a child. Listen, I’m a teenager just like you.”

***  

On our way back home, Alex told me that Madison was the only girl at school who was not attracted to him. Alex was kind of popular in his year.

“Girls would die to get a kiss from me,” he said proudly. Blah! I wanted to throw up. I admitted that he was cute for his age, though. So let’s assume he did not lie. One day, he and Madison were paired in a play of “Romeo and Juliet” at drama class. That was the beginning of how they eventually got together. Ah, typical.

“Then why did you two break up?” I asked. Alex blushed and answered sheepishly,

“Because I refused to have sex with her.”

“What?!” I exclaimed in shock; my mouth wide opened. They were fourteen, for heaven’s sake! I wondered what a junior high schooler knew about sex these days. They must have watched too many brainwashing Hollywood films.

“Yeah. So she did it with somebody else, my best friend. I found them making out when I went to her penthouse to pick her up for a date. That sucked,” Alex said; looked angry. But then his expression softened and he muttered,

“I still like her...”

“Listen, you’ve done the right thing by not following her will. I’m proud that you kept holding to your principle. Don’t do sex before marriage,” I said, trying to cheer him up but more sounded like I was preaching. Wow, I had a talent to be a nun. Anyway, I could not believe that I and Alex talked about something like this like two close friends. This was such a huge development in our relationship. If we went along well like this all the time, my task as a nanny would be smoother and so much easier.

“Considering that you’re a bi, don’t you think that it’s not appropriate for you to say that to me?” Alex frowned.

“Hey, even if  that’s my sexual orientation, it doesn’t mean that I have ever dated anyone. To like someone and be involved in a relationship are two different things. I swear I’ve never been kissed,” I said, emphasizing the word ‘if’. Alex glanced at Lola who was snoring in serene in my arms, then turned to me and grinned naughtily.

“Ah. So you’ve never been kissed,” Alex said with creepy expression. I hugged Lola tightly and prepared to back away from him. Before I could avoid it, he leaned in and kissed me on the lips. I was stunned and speechless at the same time.

“Now you have...” He whispered and stuck out his tongue, sneering at me.

“Got you! Ha ha.” He laughed manically and sprint into the house as I moved my hand to choke his neck.

“Alex! That’s not funny!” I shouted at him. Oh my God. That was outrageous. Did we...actually kiss? I guessed my cheeks turned red.

***  

I thought it would be awkward when I met Alex after that kiss, but he was completely cool when we sat in front of each other in the kitchen this morning. He finished his breakfast as usual as if nothing had happened. Well, there was indeed nothing between us and to think that he put his lips on mine, it was so gross. But still...it was a kiss! Gosh, he must have been out of his mind.

“Hey, why are you looking at me like that? I was just joking last night, okay. Please don’t take it seriously,” Alex said as if he could read my mind.

“You jerk!” I threw my spoon into his face, but it missed and almost hit Lucy who just came in. I and Alex were still annoyed because she left Lola the other night, so none of us greeted her. Lucy seemed to feel uneasy and apologized to us.

“Don’t worry, Lucy. I won’t tell mom and dad if you agree to take care of Lucy tonight,” Alex said, crossing his arms.

“Well, since I have done a stupid mistake...fine, then,” Lucy said. Alex turned to me.

“Kelsey, you can go home tonight,” he said, smiling. Wow he was nice. I liked it here more than my apartment, though. Going home means I had to babysit my sleaze brother, Joey.

“Um, thanks. But you don’t have to do that, Lucy,” I said.

“No, don’t come tonight. Got it?” Alex insisted and walked off before we could argue further. Wait, why did he give me one night off all of a sudden? He must have planned something.